My First Job

My first job was during the summer of 1973 when I was 15. I worked for a company called Western Folder for $2 per hour. Western Folder distributed travel folders to travel agents across the United States. Once a month a new mailing would go out to all of them with order forms for various travel folders for airlines (mainly). When the orders came in, we would fill them and get them ready for UPS shipment.

The company resided in Addison, Illinois in a strip building in which there were many small businesses. I recall two interesting episodes.

At this time, UPS did not ship to all states. They would not ship anything to Montana, for instance. We didn't always pay close enough attention to where we were shipping things and inevitably, some Montana packages got in the truck for UPS. One day, the UPS driver came by and was quite ticked off about this - surprisingly so, I thought since we were actually his customer! He came in ranting and raving about these packages with Montana addresses and that they didn't deliver there. Then he randomly picked up a package that we had just put together and lo and behold, it was to another Montana address. What were the odds of this?

On another occasion, one of the managers pretended to be a travel agent and filled out an order and let it go through our system. He selected one folder from each page in the order form. We spotted this order and wrapped the package extra fancy. I don't recall the details but it was quite funny. Not sure he thought it was so funny, though.

I see via the internet that this company still exists. The company is actually much older than 33 years; it goes back to 1922 according to the web page. It says that they have been doing this travel folder business for almost 35 years so I guess I was there close to when they started doing that.

To Help or Not to Help

A few years ago I had a software gig in downtown Denver. One day I went out for lunch by myself and walked out of the building and headed down the block. I noticed a teenage girl on the other side of the street who was looking my direction. Hardly anyone else was around. I needed to cross the street and decided to jaywalk since there was no traffic. I wanted to avoid this girl though so I walked a bit farther down the street before crossing. She was determined to talk with me, though. When I got close enough, I saw that she was crying and was definitely in need of help.

She told me that she and some friends had driven to Denver from Albuquerque - about 450 miles. They were doing some sort of fund raising activity and had actually accomplished some of that. But rather than make good use of the money, they had all gone somewhere and got drunk using all of the money they had raised. Then, for some reason that she did not tell me, they had abandoned her so that she was stuck in Denver with no place to go and no way to get home.

I agreed to help her but since I only had enough money for lunch, I took her to a nearby bank where there was an ATM and I got her enough money for a bus ride to Albuquerque and some lunch. She was obviously relieved as she went her way.

This isn't the first time an opportunity to help someone in this manner has come to me. But there is always that little bit of doubt about whether these people are sincere. To me, there seems to be a difference between someone with a story like this girl's from the random person who just wants a few bucks for some food or the people who seem to make their living by hanging out at "their" instersection asking for handouts.

Michigan versus Ohio State (again?)

I think it would be a bad thing for these two teams to have a rematch in the National Championship Game. If Ohio State were to win again - even bigger bragging rights for them. If Michigan wins, that would mean that they split the two games. Then, how about a best of 3 series? Plus, playing, let's say, USC in the big game and winning would be that much better for Ohio State should that happen.

Michigan should go to the Rose Bowl. But they should not play Notre Dame because this would also be a rematch of a game earlier this year in which Michigan won handily.

I would like to see Ohio State beat USC in the big game and for Michigan to beat Florida in the Rose Bowl.

Michigan versus Ohio State 2006

The game is over with Ohio State winning 42-39. Good for them. Michigan was close but fell short. Too bad there wasn't another quarter - they might have passed up the Buckeyes. Oh wait, maybe there will be another 4 quarters should they meet again in the national championship game. A long shot, I know, but if certain other teams lose...

Michigan versus Ohio State

The Michigan flag flying in front of my house tells anyone who sees it that I will be rooting for Michigan on Saturday. I have seen an Ohio State flag flying a few blocks away as well. I thought it looked a little dirty.

Michigan last won in 2003 and Ohio State has won 4 of the last 5. The two teams have previously met 102 times with Michigan winning 57 times, Ohio State winning 39 times and there were 6 ties. I am hoping that Michigan wins this year and goes on to the National Championship Game. Should Ohio State beat Michigan, they will go on to the National Championship Game and I will root for them in it unless by some unexpected circumstance, the game becomes a rematch. I almost always root for any Big Ten game in any non-conference game including bowls.

Three Posers

As I rode through Waterton Canyon the other day, I came upon these three fellows.



They stood there like statues while I and several others took pictures of them. It seemed that they were aware of the photographers and willingly posed for the cameras. After a minute or two, they slowly made their way up the road pretty much ignoring the presence of interested humans passing by.

Judging by the extent to which the horns have grown, the one in the middle is the oldest and is probably the big cheese for the local herd. According to what I have read on the internet about bighorn sheep, he is 8-10 years old. He has probably butted heads with the other two numerous times.

Here is a neat link to a movie of some sheep. These sheep are known to live to as old as 17 but 10-12 years is common.

Chain Reaction

The sound of these geese taking off was as much fun as the sight of their takeoff. I just got a little bit too close for one of them. When it took off, the rest followed.

Grebe is a Funny Name for a Bird

The western grebe in the photo below was having a problem. I watched him for a while before I realized what the problem was. He went back and forth for quite a while and sometimes he would go below the water. That's not unusual for a grebe but sometimes he would also flop around in an eratic fashion. Upon closer examination with binoculars, I could see that he was snagged on an abandoned fishing line. We notified some park personnel and they went in and rescued the poor fellow.



I think grebe is a funny word. I also think grebes are cool looking. Western Grebes are common in this area (Denver) but are also migratory so you won't see them all year.

Red Tailed Hawks

We've seen quite a few hawks lately. This first one was circling above us as we walked along the short of the lake at Chatfield.



This one was near the trailhead to Waterton Canyon. He just sat there for a few minutes no more than 20 feet away. And yes, that is an airplane in the background. Didn't notice it while I took the picture.

In Case You Didn't Know

In case you didn't know, if you click on any of the pictures on this blog, you will get a larger version of the same picture...

Ring Billed Gulls

Ring billed gulls are very common right now at Chatfield. In fact, they are supposedly common year round by the lake. In the picture below, you can see what happens when you get too close.



Here is one that is more comfortable:

More Information About Banded Geese

I found this webpage about the goose banding by the group that banded the goose I spotted. Interesting study.

Feedback on Tagged Goose sighting Report

In a post of a few days ago, I included a picture of a tagged Canadian goose and that I had found a website on which to report the sighting. I got a response from the USGS - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. This is what it said:

"We have received your report(s) of a neck-collared Canada Goose sighting. These collars are used to individually identify geese throughout North America in several large-scale studies of changing habits and habitat preferences of geese.

"We have forwarded your report and a copy of this letter to the individual researcher responsible for collaring the bird (s) you sighted. Because of the large scale of the various projects, it is incumbent upon these researchers and managers to provide the public with information on the nature of their projects. Additionally, if the collar color and code are properly reported, the researcher will provide you with information pertaining to the individual bird(s) you sighted.

"If you have reported birds from several different projects, you will receive a copy of this letter for each project. In this way if you do not get a response in a reasonable time you can contact the specific bander directly. The address is below.

"To learn more about birds and bird banding, see our web page at http:// www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl

"Thank you for your interest and cooperation in the North American Bird Banding Program."

Then the email mentioned that this particular bander was from the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Fort Collins, Colorado.

For Collins is not that far from where I live as the goose flies. Of course, this particular goose might have travelled a lot farther than that. I hope I get a report from the bander.